Authorities say an Indonesian woman being held over the killing of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's half-brother believed she was taking part in a prank when she sprayed a poisonous substance in his face.

Indonesian national police chief, Tito Karnavian, said the suspect identified as Siti Aisayh and another woman claimed to have been paid to perform the prank on other men at an airport in Kuala Lumpur, reports the BBC. A man was also arrested in the death of Kim Jong Nam.

Advertisement

"Such an action was done three or four times and they were given a few dollars for it, and with the last target, Kim Jong-nam, allegedly there were dangerous materials in the sprayer," Mr Karnavian said. "She was not aware that it was an assassination attempt by alleged foreign agents."

North Korea, meanwhile, wants the body returned, and its ambassador to Malaysia said the secretive nation would reject findings from an autopsy.

"We strongly urge and demand the Malaysian side not to be entangled with the political plot by the forces hostile to the DPRK [the Democratic People's Republic of Korea] who want to damage the image of our republic -- and to release the body immediately without any condition," Ambassador Kang Chol said.